Which is the best game meat?

In Australia I prefer a young pig, or deer to most others. Kangaroo however needs to be cooked slowly otherwise it toughens up very quickly. The tail always makes into a superb osso bucco.

A 5' "bungarra" (or racehorse goanna) is simply outstanding when cooked the Aboriginal way: simply placed in a pit of coals, covered over with sand, and left to bake for 3 or 4 hours. Peeling back the blackened outer skin, reveals a flesh just as tasty as KFC!!

But for African species - that's hard!! - as they're all so good!! Hippo, bushbuck and impala stand out best in my memory. Dr Ray, I ate a casserole from my hippo and it was the best I've ever eaten: the meat was very tasty and, OMG, so tender!! And on that point, I'll rank camel in the same category as hippo.

I agree the chef can make or break the meal - but just as importantly, so is the way in which the meat is first butchered to get the best out of it.
 
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Still no mention of sable by anyone? As soon as these road restrictions lift we will be testing that one out, cant wait.
 
My family has eaten venison as a staple. One year, quite a number of years ago, I struck out. No Bambi for the table. My wife started buying beef. My kids ,being young and acclimated to venison, complained about the meat tasting “funny”.
I’ve had some of my bear hams cured. The meat was course, but good to me. I really enjoyed sage hen. I shot several in Wyoming years ago. Smoked wild turkey is grand. I’ve always had a soft spot for bull frog. I enjoy elk and moose. I guess it will depend on how you classify game.
Looking forward To trying African game.
My personal favorite cut of venison is the heart. We boil in shrimp spice. A friend of mine with Native American heritage told me they don’t eat “guts”.
That’s fine with me!
Having said all this, I can eat bear, but not sure I could eat any feline. Had a neighbor who would save the “mountain oysters “ from buck deer. I will pass.....
 
Still no mention of sable by anyone? As soon as these road restrictions lift we will be testing that one out, cant wait.

There are currently two quartered bulls in my chestfreezer that I need to sell. Tried a fillet. It wasn’t great. I think per definition sable are hunted as trophies, hence old bulls are mostly shot, so not the best table fare. I’m sure they’ll do the trick if you make biltong and dry wors
 
My favorite is Eland, marinated in red wine with spices, and on the braii...delicious.

Then roan, which nobody has mentioned.

A nicely cooked Bushbuck backstrap.

And I was surprised by an Impala stew, spicy, just right.
 
Hmmmm, I would never have thought roan.
A few weeks ago there was a wild pig hunt on the farm in the Eastern Cape, and one of the hind quarters hit the kitchen. The kids asked for a recipe and I resorted to my go-to, Game Cook Book by the British Game Conservancy. There are no wild boar in the UK, so the recipe was borrowed from Italy. Anyway, it called for a very elaborate and exact procedure, involving in part steeping in milk for two days and an assortment of herbs. The secret is in discarding all of this marinade before roasting. The result I am informed was beyond good, more spectacular. So this year we have decided to dispense with the traditional ham and turkey and go totally game, with thir boar as the star of the show. Now - what to include as the bird - francolin, guineafowl or Egyptian goose? Any suggestions?
384EE87A-B387-46C7-8339-13A52039799F.jpeg
 
Hmmmm, I would never have thought roan.
A few weeks ago there was a wild pig hunt on the farm in the Eastern Cape, and one of the hind quarters hit the kitchen. The kids asked for a recipe and I resorted to my go-to, Game Cook Book by the British Game Conservancy. There are no wild boar in the UK, so the recipe was borrowed from Italy. Anyway, it called for a very elaborate and exact procedure, involving in part steeping in milk for two days and an assortment of herbs. The secret is in discarding all of this marinade before roasting. The result I am informed was beyond good, more spectacular. So this year we have decided to dispense with the traditional ham and turkey and go totally game, with thir boar as the star of the show. Now - what to include as the bird - francolin, guineafowl or Egyptian goose? Any suggestions?View attachment 352270


G'day Kevin, that roast looks absolutely delicious, you have actually sold it to me with just a photo. Funny thing is that I can smell it without even being there, you are a lucky man.

Over here in Australia, one of the best game meats that I have had is emu, I would have sworn that it was a really expensive steak, just cooked on a BBQ hot plate. So perhaps you can try your local long necked variety, the good old ostrich. Regrettably the only way to eat emu legally is to purchase it from some expensive specialist game meat suppliers, or get to know a local indigenous hunter, sadly I have to buy mine.

I do like crocodile, especially on the grill, both Nile, and Saltwater crocodiles, taste delicious. I have also eaten Aussie Buffalo and camel, and donkey, but they have been served as mince meat in pies, or as jerkey, therefore they don't count, as mince to me is not true meat, I like the taste of real meat, big chunky bits of meat. I tell my friends why eat soup while you are young, as you will not have a choice when you get older and have no teeth, and all you will be eating then is soup, so make the most of chewy meat now.

When over in Kenya, I went to the local Nairobi favorite restaurant called 'The Carnivore', and I got to sample a lot of charcoal grilled plains game varieties, and can vouch that Zebra did stand out amongst them all, and that's when I ate the delicious Nile Crocodile too.

A great uncle and auntie also introduced me to a lot of uncommon Australian bush tucker, being brought up during the depression, they would make the most out of anything. Kangaroo was always a regular, feral hogs, Galah, English blackbirds, ducks, etcetera, but of all the Australian animals, their most treasured was the good old native hog, 'The Wombat'. Sadly I never had the chance to sample it, but they always said that it was like better than the best pork that you could ever have. After all, there is a reason why wombats became protected in various parts of Australia :)

Wombats are a real pain in the country forested areas of Victoria, nobody in their right mind would deliberately run one over with their car, but they are extremely hard to see and avoid after dark. Well, 'Road Kill' was my uncles source during the later years, after all, why waste good meat if it is freshly steaming on the side of the road :)

Maybe I might try it one day :ROFLMAO:

I did love their English Blackbird and Galah stew, actually I have eaten blackbird various ways, and they are the most delicious of all bird species that I have had, much better than quail. I just don't eat them from suburban back yards, as I don't like the idea of them possible having eaten snails that have been eating snail bait.:ROFLMAO:

As the subject of feasting on human flesh came up, I recall seeing the below documentary about a Canadian Pig farm, and from then on I avoid buying Canadian bacon, and if I do purchase bacon, or pork, I always ensure that if any fat is visible, that it is not the colour 'Yellow', as human fat is yellow.

Therefore, my question is, how many of you eat Canadian Bacon ???? :ROFLMAO:


Robert "Willy" Pickton (The pig farm killer) - Serial Killer Documentary




My grandparents used to have a cook on their farm, he came from a tribe that used to eat their enemies, but the British made it illegal during the occupation of Kenya. My mum recalls asking the cook what human flesh taste like, and he would turn around, lean over to her with his eyes wide agape, showing a huge wicked smile, and say 'Pork Memsaab'!

Regards
Rob
 
Eland is no. 1 I would say.
Bushpig, bushbuck, kudu, impala, springbock. A young warthog isn’t bad either. Not at all. One of the very best was Gemsbok in Namibia.
However a lot depends on ones cooking skills. A poor cook can mess up the finest venison.
I agree with you.
 
I avoid buying Canadian bacon, and if I do purchase bacon, or pork, I always ensure that if any fat is visible, that it is not the colour 'Yellow', as human fat is yellow.

Therefore, my question is, how many of you eat Canadian Bacon ???? :ROFLMAO:
I hardly think that a Canadian serial killer from 20 years ago who had a pig farm is any reason for you (or anyone) to avoid eating bacon that comes from Canada!!
 
@Saul pork is great if it’s processed, Ham, Bacon, Salami

The bit about eating human is almost written as a statement as though it will happen, it may have happened in survival situations but if you set out to eat it it should be illegal. Doesn’t matter how you source it if it was survival no one would enforce the law but otherwise it’s just sick, no one would do that. Andrew Zimmerman was quoted as saying he would but he gets paid to eat shit.

I do not eat pork for obvious reasons, though just cultural, I do not consider myself religious.

People always get freaked when I mention eating human. I did write it in jest, but with that said, I certainly would not be opposed to it.
 
I hardly think that a Canadian serial killer from 20 years ago who had a pig farm is any reason for you (or anyone) to avoid eating bacon that comes from Canada!!

G'day Cam Moon

Rightly so, it's just that these particular murders took the wind out of me at the time, and I took it on as a learning experience. Honestly, I did not realize how much Canadian bacon was imported in to Australia until that crime occurred. It way out numbered the Australian produced bacon on our Super Market shelves.

Regards

Rob
 
Well Bob, that's because it's awesome!
(I so wanted to write something about it being "people flavored"!):ROFLMAO:
 
Well let’s differentiate here:
1. Cooked or roasted would have to be Reedbuck especially those that feed on dairy farm Teff in the KZN midlands.
2. Braaied (BBQ) goes to the mighty Eland whose rump or whole fillet cannot be matched.
3. Biltong is a tricky one but my vote goes to Impala that has been hanging so long it is turning white. It crumbles in the mouth!
4. Droe wors would go to Blue Wildebeest or Oryx.
5. Cheese grillers would obviously be MR Warts.

Then for the extraordinaries I would add porcupine top quill muscle rolled and tied , baked in a slow oven with potatoes!
 
You know your game meats John, the porcupine sounds really interesting.
 
I've eaten a wide variety of game from all over the place. My faves are:

Axis deer...no better meat on the planet, especially an axis doe.
Eland
Gemsbok
Moose
Mtn Zebra
Nilgai
Springbok
Elk
 
I have heard people put down their names for moose road kill, no cholesterol and apparently good if you cant eat beef for some health reason.
 
You know your game meats John, the porcupine sounds really interesting.
You only use the muscle on top of the porcupine it is the one that allows the quills to stand up. The rest of the animal is rodent!
 

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